Inductees 2018
Meet the 2018 Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame Inductees
Left to right are Ernest “Roger” Hotz, Dan LaCarte, Jamont Kinds, the late John Konek who was represented by his daughter Jana Konek Ward, Vinnie Graham and Jamie Reader
Vince Graham
When you talk about the top point producers in WPIAL basketball history, Belle Vernon’s Vince Graham has to be mentioned. The former Leopard ranks number four on the WPIAL’s All-Time scoring list.
Graham played at Belle Vernon from 1991- 92 through 1994-95. The Leopards posted records of 5-18, 13-11, 15-10 and 11-13. They made the WPIAL playoffs in 1993- 94 and defeated Peters Township 75-74 before falling to Seton LaSalle in overtime 67-63.
“I played with a great group of guys,” Graham said. “I have a lot of memories and we had great coaches and they were very important.
“My junior year when we went to the second round of the playoffs I broke my wrist late in the season against Brownsville. The first round we played Peters Township, I got fitted with a soft cast and played. My junior year was one of the best years I had. We had a nice team.
Graham tallied 2,429 points during his career at Belle Vernon. He played junior high football, but decided to play strictly basketball in high school.
“My game was pretty much a combination of everything,” Graham recalled. “I was pretty quick and I could get to the basket. By my senior year I had worked on my outside shot and it was a lot better and more accurate.”
Belle Vernon had some big scoring nights when Graham played, the Leopards defeateing Brownsville 127-83 on Jan. 22, 1993.
“That was a track meet, that was a lot of points,” Graham said.
Graham had a high game of 60 points in a 84-72 win over Penn-Trafford on Dec. 20, 1994, and followed that by pumping in 42 in a 73-65 loss to Uniontown on Dec. 22, 1994.
“I remember the 60-point night,” Graham said. “We were at home and I was pretty much hot from everywhere, inside, outside. I remember when I got to 50, my buddy Josh Murray’s dad said I had 50 and told me to keep going. I probably could have scored more, but coach took me out with about three minutes left. It was just one of those nights when everything was clicking. I just couldn’t miss.”
Graham has fond memories of former Belle Vernon coach Bill Wiltz, who is now the coach at Charleroi.
“I had a great relationship with Coach Wiltz,” Graham stated. “He was a father figure to me and when recruiting time came around he was there for me. I can remember him taking me to visit George Washington during the summer.”
Back in the day, Wiltz had this to say about Graham.
“Vince is probably the best guard in western Pennsylvania,” Wiltz offered. “His quickness and ability to score place him above any other guard in the area.”
Graham was pursued by some Division I schools like Penn State, Boston College, George Washington, Texas and Duquesne.
Boston College, George Washington, Texas and Duquesne. “My size (5-8) hurt me and I still hadn’t taken my SAT test at that point in recruiting,” Graham explained. “Coach Mike Jarvis from George Washington wanted me to go to a junior college and I did go to Moberly Community College in Missouri for about a month. I called my mom and told her I didn’t like it. I told her I was going to come home and play for California University of Pennsylvania and at least you can see me play.”
Graham started off well at Cal, playing for first-year coach Bill Brown during the 1996-97 campaign. Graham averaged 14.4 points and was the PSAC West Rookie of the Year. He helped the Vulcans post a 17-11 record.
During the 1997-98 season, Graham averaged 13.6 points and was named All-PSAC West. He helped Cal win the first of three straight PSAC West titles and an NCAA Division II tourney appearance. Cal lost to Edinboro, 79-78, in the first round. The Vulcans finished with a 23-5 record and were ranked 16th in the final NCAA II poll.
Graham only played in 10 games during the 1998-99 season, when he suffered a knee injury. He averaged 11.0 points before the injury. “I had some good days at Cal,” Graham recalled. “I still remember the 79- 78 loss to Edinboro, we just needed a little more time on the clock. We had a good group of guys and some good teams, guys like Rob Jones and Derrick Scott. Coach Brown was a good coach and a good mentor and he had some good assistants. My shot got really good when I hit the college level.
“I got hurt in a game right before Christmas during the 1998-99 season. I made a move and was going to the hoop for a routine layup and I heard a pop and I tore my patella tendon in my knee. I rehabbed the knee and was coming into my senior season and I did the same exact move in a Connie Hawkins League summer game and I tore the tendon again. That was it for basketball. I finished school and got my degree. The injury was tough; it wasn’t the way I wanted it to end.”
Graham was born on March 3, 1976 and is the son of Vincenne Cheatham and today lives in White Oak with his wife Elizabeth Ann with four sons Brayden, Tyler, Mason, and Jordan. Graham has worked for Phillips Respironics of New Kensington.
“Looking back, I wouldn’t trade the athletic career for anything in the world,” Graham stated.
(Grateful acknowledgment to George Von Benko’s “Memory Lane” column on Vince Graham December 17, 2013 in the Herald-Standard)
Mom Vincenne Cheatham holding son Vinnie’s commemorative 2,000 point basketball presented by BVA Athletic Director Jim Bush in the BVA gymnasium December 23, 1994
Ernest "Roger" Hotz
As an actor on stage and in films, Roger Hotz knows the value of a strong supporting cast.
That respect for others, buoyed with deep faith, has guided him through a lifetime of achievements.
“My athletic ability was given to me by God, and I pray that I have glorified his name through all of my accomplishment,” Hotz, a native of California, Pa. now living in Orlando, Fla., said.
Hotz wrote distinct chapters in basketball history at California Community High School and California State College (now California University of Pennsylvania) in the 1950s, but he has always been quick to share the accolades.
“I was blessed with great teammates and coaches,” he said. “No one accomplishes anything by himself.”
That gratitude also has been extended many times to his parents, the late Alex and Margaret Underwood Hotz.
“I was fortunate to have the parents I had,” Hotz, 81, said. “They were always very supportive and encouraged my efforts.”
Those sentiments on a recent sunny afternoon in Orlando echoed similar, and poignant, comments from Hotz when he was inducted into the California Trojan Booster Club Hall of Fame on April 24, 1976.
“As much as I appreciate it, this trophy really doesn’t belong to me,” Hotz told the banquet audience at California University’s Gallagher Hall. “My parents went through a lot for me. They stuck by me, and, my Mom in particular put up with a lot while I was playing. There were a lot of extra meals to cook when I came home late from practice. This trophy belongs to her.”
With that, Hotz, a 1955 graduate of California Community High School, walked from the podium, stretched his long legs across the dining hall and gave the commemorative award to his mother – along with a kiss.
Hotz’s father was a coal miner for 43 years and a longtime member of the California Volunteer Fire Department. His mother worked as a custodian at the college, which was located only a few blocks from the family’s home in the Phillipsburg neighborhood of California, after his sister graduated from high school. Melanie Hotz recently retired from a career as a registered nurse and educator at The Washington Hospital.
Hotz got his first taste of organized athletes as a freshman on his high school football team in 1951. His hopes for a college gridiron career were cut short when he suffered a broken collarbone at the start of his senior year.
Hotz made the most of his three years as a letterman – and standout – basketball player with his high school team. He broke most of the Trojans’ scoring records and garnered numerous post-season honors.
“Coach (Bill) Watkins always pushed me hard and that made me become the athlete I became,” Hotz said of the longtime CCHS basketball mentor. “That taught me self-discipline and a great work ethic, which helped prepare me for all that I have become.”
He also recalled such “great teammates” as Gary Kennedy, Sergie Tuday, John Slusarczyk, Tom Saxe and Jack McKay “among many others.”
Hotz, a 6-5 center, culminated his scholastic career by being named to the All-Mon Valley Section 5-A first team in 1955. Others in that select group included forwards Buck Grover of Brownsville and Don Burke of Monongahela and guards Ernie Lattanzio of Monessen and Dan Testy of Charleroi. Hotz and Grover were the only unanimous choices of the coaches that selected the team.
Grover won Section 5 individual scoring title with a 21.5 points per game average, and Hotz was second at 19.3.They faced each other in the 1954-55 season finale. Hotz outscored Grover 25-15 In leading California to a 64-57 victory.
Hotz didn’t limit his talents to athletics in high school. He also played in the CCHS band.
Living only a turn-around jump from the campus of California State College, Hotz knew he would continue his education and basketball career there.
“There were not many athletic scholarships available in those days, I couldn’t afford to go anywhere else,” he said. “I had the opportunity to play basketball and, more important, I received a good education. My experiences at California prepared me well for the future.”
Coach Gene Hester at Cal State welcomed Hotz with open arms – and strong words of advice.
“(Hester) told me before we played our first game in December 1955, ‘If you continue to work as hard as you are now, you will play a lot of ball for me,’” Hotz recalled. “Hs confidence in me gave the confidence in myself to achieve the success I had.”
So did teammates, who were “dedicated to the game” during Hotz’s four years as a starter for the Vulcans. He said it was “a privilege” to have played with such men as Lloyd Gilmore, Sibby Lonigro, Stan “Nunny” Milchovich, Ken Rager and Dennis Kuremsky “and many others” in that era.
California experienced a rough season in 1958-59, but Hotz, then a senior, made his presence felt as far as school and State Teachers Conference records were concerned.
As a senior that season, Hotz scored 573 points, a school record at the time. He averaged 28.7 points and more than 10 rebounds a game. He scored a school record 47 points in his final collegiate game, a 92-74 win over Slippery Rock in 1959. He also established a career scoring record at that time with 1,747 points to eclipse the previous mark of 1,317 held by Dick Majernik, a 1955 graduate.
“I didn’t get to see Dick play very often,” Hotz said of Majernik. “We were always playing at the same time when I was in high school and he was in college. He was a great player.”
The career record set by Hotz was considered a unique achievement at the time considering that the Vulcans played an average of just 18 games a season.
In conference play, Hotz averaged nearly 30 points a game as a junior and more than 33 points as a senior. He was a three-time all-conference selection, and the school’s athletic council and student congress retired his jersey number, 54, shortly after his final season. Hotz was inducted into the California University of Pennsylvania athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.
He also played tennis for four years at the university, losing only two singles matches in that stretch.
“After we moved to Michigan in 1963 I played in city leagues, church leagues, YMCA leagues and anywhere I could find a game,” Hotz said. “I did the same when we moved to Florida, where I played until I was 56. I figured after more than 40 years it was time to quit before I got hurt.”
Hotz began his educational career as a mathematics teacher in 1959-60 at Laurel Valley High School near Johnstown. He moved to Elizabeth-Forward High the following year and was a teacher and coach for three years there before going to Michigan in 1963. He worked as a teacher, guidance counselor and administrator for 18 years in Michigan and in 1979 moved to Florida, where he continued his career in education at Gateway High School in Kissimmee. During that time, he coached golf for six years. He retired in 1999 after 40 years as an educator.
Hotz and his wife, the former Carol Conley of Claysville, have been married for 56 years.
“I met her when she was student-teaching at California High School,” Hotz said. “We were married in March of 1961.”
Carol began teaching English at her alma mater, McGuffey High School in Claysville. Subsequently, after they moved to Florida, she worked for 20 years as an information specialist at Walt Disney World in Orlando before retiring in 2000.
Retirement has been anything but idle time for Hotz.
“After I retired from education I became a certified master golf club maker and have produced clubs for people throughout the United States,” he said.
He also took up acting with the Celebration Players, a popular community theater group in Orlando.
His passion for acting also has allowed Hotz to appear in minor parts in television and motion pictures. He also has appeared in TV commercials.
Hotz always has time to remember his hometown and help with fundraising efforts at California University of Pennsylvania.
“I have many fond memories of growing up in California,” he said. “There were such great times as swimming in the river, picking blackberries along the railroad tracks and eating fresh garden vegetables grown in our neighborhood.
“My friends and I used to eat that delicious homemade chili and drink a Pepsi at Alfano’s restaurant and shoot pool at Chief Morano’s pool hall. Movies and bowling also was great fun in the Hollywood Theater complex.”
Hotz also is a staunch supporter of the varsity basketball programs at California.
“We can always count on Roger to help,” Dick Majernik of Brownsville, who spearheads many of the fundraising events, said. “He comes back to play in our annual summer golf tournament.”
Hotz was among the more than 50 former Vulcans basketball stars who participated in the university’s first basketball alumni day in 2000.
Any return to California gives Hotz a chance to visit the campus.
“The university and the town have certainly changed,” he said. “I realize the opportunities are much greater today. However, I preferred it when it was smaller and more personable. Can you believe my home was located in the middle of what is now the parking lot at Hamer Hall?
” (Grateful acknowledgment to Ron Paglia for the Tribune Review article February 17, 2009)
Jamont Kinds
Jamont Kinds is among the elite athletes ever turned out by Ringgold High School. His capturing Tri-Athlete of the Year as a senior in 1995 attests to that, as he excelled in football, basketball, and track. Jamont is the son of Cheryl Kinds and was born April 27, 1977.
Rams football star. He was a Big School Second Team All-State defensive back in 1994, was an All-Conference standout for three consecutive seasons, and was selected to the 1994 Post-Gazette’s Fabulous 22 squad. He said he is also proud of holding the Ringgold record for the most yards passing in a season, at 1294, “until Nico Law broke it at 1,353 in Law’s junior season 2013-14.” It was a record possibly held by Joe Montana but unfortunately those records cannot be verified.
In 1994, he was listed among the top 60 high school defensive backs in the nation by the prestigious Street and Smith football publication. “I started getting recruited,” Kinds recalled, “as a sophomore by Division I schools. I had shoeboxes full of letters. It got to be overwhelming.”
Joe Ravasio coached Ringgold football when Kinds scampered all over the field, thrilling fans with his exploits as a defensive back and quarterback (he even had a 74-yard punt return once). Ravasio recalled, “Jamont, without a question, was very, very athletic. He had just tremendous athleticism, great instincts as a quarterback and safety, great speed, and the ability to stop and cut—all the things that we credit to those who have the higher level skills.”
“I think what helped on the offensive end as a quarterback is he never placed his abilities above the game. He always was willing to learn, to listen. There was never any arrogance. He knew that he had to play within the parameters expected of him from his coaches and teammates. His teammates gave him a lot of respect because it was never about Jamont Kinds. It’s very difficult to find that attribute in high school, college, and especially professional athletes today.”
Ravasio called him “a tremendous basketball player with quick feet.” He was a starter for three seasons and, as a senior, he barely missed out on scoring 1,000 points. That was the year the Rams became state champs, knocking off Williamsport while relying heavily upon Kinds in the championship game. “The game came down to the wire, I scored, I think it was 27 points.” Jamont has 939 points and ranks among the top ten scorers in Ringgold basketball history.
The win was solidified when Jeff Tyree hit a bucket, got fouled, missed a free throw which was snatched up by Kinds who then stuck it back, got fouled, and completed a three-point play with about 2:30 left on the clock. “That put the game away. The unique thing about that was only four of us scored, so for us to win like that was crazy. The four of us played together from middle school on.” Those three teammates, who all hit for double figures, were Mike Horan, Czar Walsh, and Tyree.
Kinds honed his skills by “practicing hard as a little kid. All I used to do was go on the playground every day and either play football or basketball. I was always participating in some type of sport. Doing that every day, I learned. Watching guys before me helped—guys like the Brian Millers and the Yancey Taylors—I looked up to them. And the competition helped, like between me and my best friend Jeff Tyree, and people always challenged us as to who was going to be the best.
Well-rounded, Kinds was also a track star who said that in his junior year he made it to State long jump competition where he placed fourth. He won the triple jump at the Baldwin Invitational track meet as a junior with a jump of 44 feet 9 inches. In 1995 Jamont was named to the introductory class as a Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame scholar athlete.
After graduating from Ringgold, he attended Hargrave Military Academy as a transition to the college level. “We played against J.V. squads like Navy and West Virginia to get us used to playing against quality competition and players of the same caliber as we were.”
The next entry on his football resume was his experience as a defensive back at Syracuse where the school won several Big East championships. “We went to the Liberty Bowl and won it over Houston, went to the Orange Bowl and were defeated by Florida, and to the Fiesta Bowl defeating Colorado.”
Unfortunately, Kinds career was interrupted. “I had a freak accident as a senior and had to have surgery on my stomach. It took years to heal, but I still fought through to play the game. It did limit my success.” Jamont lettered one year at Syracuse in 1997.
Still, his football prowess was more than enough to take him to the American Indoor Football League where he played for the Johnstown Riverhawks for two seasons. In his final season there, 2005, while playing as a defensive back, a freak injury to his Achilles tendon in the fourth game shelved him. However, he rebounded by playing semipro football the following season for the Pittsburgh Colts, once more as a quarterback.
Kinds, a football guy through and through, also coached at McKeesport, Ringgold, and Geibel Catholic High. He now resides in McKeesport and works for as a District Coordinator for Aflac.
(Grateful acknowledgement to Wayne Stewart for this biography that appeared March 6, 2018 in the Herald-Standard)
Syracuse player Jamont Kinds playing against Pitt
John Konek
Teammate Ed Slosky of California, Pennsylvania believes his 1949 running mate, John Konek, was the “best ever at what he did on the gridiron.” Pete Petroff, the center on the ’49 California championship team remembers, “He had great speed and moves and could outrun everyone. John could break loose and make those long runs down the field. John weighed 188 pounds which was pretty big for a back in those days.” MMVASHOF 2012 inductee Casper Voithofer called Konek “multi-talented, fast, and strong.” Konek was born January 26, 1932 the son of George and Julia Simko Konek.
John was the top runner in 1949. He hit pay dirt 16 times and tacked on 10 pats for 106 points in route to becoming a high school All American. California outscored its opponents 304-61 much to the credit of Konek. California rolled to a 10-0-0 record.
Konek, with a 6 foot, one inch frame was only 17 as a senior halfback. But, as Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph sportswriter George Kiseda wrote, Konek’s assets “are numberless. He has size, speed, and power in quantity. In an age of specialists, he is an anachronism. He hypnotized opposition coaches with his play in every department, running, kicking, passing, blocking, and tackling.”
For his efforts Konek was named to the third annual All-American high school team by the Wigwam Wisemen of American in Oklahoma City. Konek played in the All-American high school football game at Crump Stadium in Memphis. In addition to the national honors Konek also was chosen as the Sun-Telegraph’s High School Player of the Year in Western Pennsylvania. Sports writer Kiseda noted that the WPIAL coaches who participated in the voting for the award “left no adjective unturned” in choosing Konek 115-111 over McKeesport running back Frank Paterra. John played in the 1950 Scholastic All-American Football Game.
Konek received scholarship offers upon graduation from California High in 1950 from many major universities including, Notre Dame, Pitt, Penn State, Maryland, West Virginia, Miami, Oklahoma, L.S.U., Carnegie Tech and many others, including appointments to West Point and Annapolis. Because he wanted to play against Oklahoma and Notre Dame, Konek accepted a Division l football scholarship to the University of Kansas. Stan Milchovich recalls Konek was so good that he stipulated to Kansas that his brother Pete be given a scholarship to Kansas as well. In his first year, 1951, Konek made All Conference as a D Back. He also set a record for ten interceptions in one season. In 1952, during his junior year, a knee injury (torn ligaments and cartilage) throttled Konek’s football career.
High school teammate Slosky believes, “without the injury he could have made it to the next level, the NFL. And he was such a great baseball player that he could have played in the Major Leagues.” Despite his knee injury in 1952, Konek was still drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles after graduating from the University of Kansas. In 1954, Konek played baseball in the Phillies and Pirates minor leagues organization. As a third baseman at 6’1”, 200 lbs. John played for the Burlington-Graham Pirates of the Carolina League and the Terre Haute Phillies of the Indiana-Illinois-Iowa League.
Roy Barli recently recalled Konek’s baseball skills when they were teammates on the California High team. “In ninth grade John was on third and I was on first. We won the section and played one game in the WPIAL championship games which we lost 3-1 with Tony Segzda on the mound. John and I also played three years for California American Legion. In 1949 we won the 25th District Championship.” Barli made the point that Konek was an excellent third baseman and tremendous hitter. Konek could hit any kind of pitch, didn’t matter.” Barli also remembered Konek making First Team in the basketball section.
John passed away on October 4, 2009 and was married to Carol Wolfe Konek for fifty-five years. Retired from a career in real estate sales, John enjoyed playing golf in retirement. John and Carol enjoyed a family of four children, Jill, John Douglas, Jana, and Jeff.
At his funeral it was said of Konek: “Youngest child of nine, born to Hungarian parents, Big John was bigger than life always with a higher purpose to serve. His infectious wonderful smile was genuine.”
Dan LaCarte
Dan LaCarte was a star-player during his heyday at Charleroi Area High School. A 1999 graduate and Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame Scholar- Athlete, LaCarte earned 9 letters throughout his time with the Cougars. He was captain for the 1998 Cougars Century Conference Champions; a key member on the 1996 Conference Championship Basketball team; and was the starting third basemen for the 1997 Conference Champion baseball team. A strong, multisport athlete, LaCarte wowed the crowds at Charleroi Area High School. Dan was born September 27, 1980 the son of Mary and Jack LaCarte.
LaCarte won many battles on the football gridiron, where he was a fouryear starter at tight end and outside linebacker for the Cougars. A giant compared to others, Dan towered over his opponents. On offense, LaCarte hauled in 79 career catches for 981 receiving yards and 13 career touchdowns. His total receptions rank 2nd all time in school history. Defensively, LaCarte posted more than 300 career tackles, 20 career sacks, and 5 interceptions. In 1998, Dan earned a spot on the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Fabulous 22 team and was named 1st team All State by the Associated Press to become just the 3rd Cougar in the last 30 years to be named to the All State team.
Dan was a rare three-time, all conference performer with the Cougars on the football field, but also starred on the basketball court and baseball diamond. In basketball, Dan was a power forward underneath the hoop and averaged over 15 points per game for the Cougars, earning all section twice during his junior and senior seasons. Dan was named the MVP in the Charleroi Holiday tournament as a junior by scoring 29 points and sinking a buzzer beater over Bentworth to give the Cougars, at the time, their first Holiday tournament championship since 1984. In baseball, Dan lettered two years and was named Honorable Mention all-conference at third base during the 1997 season.
Dan earned the Steven Stepanian Award in 1999 given to Charleroi’s top Male Student Athlete as well as earning the Jack Stevenson award given to the Cougars top basketball player for the 1999 season. Dan also did well in the classroom as he graduated with a 3.4 GPA and graduated in the Top 20 of his class at Charleroi Area High School.
LaCarte was highly sought after as a recruit, fielding offers from the University of Pittsburgh, NC State, West Virginia University, The Ohio State, Vanderbilt, and Duke. LaCarte would go on to attend the University of Pittsburgh after earning a full athletic scholarship with the Panthers.
The coaching staff at Pitt saw the potential in LaCarte’s playing abilities and switched his position from tight end to the defensive line, before settling upon the offensive line where he would be a starter for three years. Dan’s move to become the starting offensive guard in 2001 helped lead the Panthers to a 6-game winning streak to finish the season with a Tangerine Bowl victory over NC State.
Dan was a 4-year letterman at Pitt, while starting in 34 games for the Pitt Panthers at left offensive guard from 2001-2003. He appeared in 39 contests in his four-year career. The Charleroi product played in four bowl games for the Panthers and started in three of those contests. LaCarte was named to the All-Big East Academic team three times in his career at Pitt and earned Pitt’s most improved offensive player award in 2001. He was also named Pitt’s Offensive Lineman of the Game by his coaches for his performances in wins over Kent State, Toledo, Notre Dame and a historic win over #3 Virginia Tech in 2002.
Dan graduated with a Business Management degree at the University of Pittsburgh finishing with a 3.5 GPA.
In 2006, Dan was nominated by the Tribune Review as one of the alltime tight ends for its 100 year all time WPIAL team. Additionally, LaCarte was nominated in 2011 as one of the Pitt’s top lineman of the decade from 2000-2010.
Since his playing days, La Carte has helped coach area teams around the Mon Valley. Dan was a part of the Charleroi Cougar Coaching staff for seven years (2004-2011), serving as the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator for the Cougars. Dan was on the staff for the 2004 Century Conference Championship team under Coach Nick Milchovich. In 2012, LaCarte coached the Belle Vernon Leopards offensive line which earned a WPIAL playoff appearance. LaCarte has since coached with the Ringgold Rams on the offensive and defensive lines.
Dan serves as the Executive Vice President of Model Cleaners, Uniforms and Apparel, which is a long-time family owned business based in Charleroi that Dan runs along with his four older brothers. The business currently employs over 200 families in the Pittsburgh region. Dan also has served on the board of the Mon Valley YMCA for the past 9 years. LaCarte resides in Carroll Township with his wife, Michele, and three children Elyse, Thomas and Vincent.
University of Pittsburgh’s Dan LaCarte
Jamie Reader
A 1993 Monessen High graduate, Jamie Reader has a storied athletic career spanning the better part of two decades. From his formidable years spent at Memorial Stadium, to career defining moments in the National Football League, Reader has excelled on and off the field at all levels of the game.
During his time at Monessen High School, Reader was a three-year starter for the late Coach Jack Scarvel, a 2001 Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee. He was a defensive end as a sophomore and fullback-linebacker as a junior and senior. He made the Tri-County South Conference team his last two years.
Reader’s most memorable game was at Connellsville against Geibel. “They were a pretty good team and was one of our biggest rivals,” he claimed. “We were down 15-0 at halftime and coach Scarvel snapped in the dressing room. We came back to win and I had four touchdowns, including the winner with one second left.” Trailing 22-6 going into the fourth quarter in a battle of the conference co-leaders, Reader scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a thrilling 24-22 victory.
In Reader’s junior year, Monessen was one win away from going to the WPIAL Class A championship game, but lost to eventual titlist Rochester, 40-7, in the semifinals. Reader ran for more than 1,300 yards as a senior and scored 109 points.
During his senior season, Pitt, Akron, Rutgers and most of the Mid-American Conference teams were interested in Reader. “I really wanted to go to Pitt,” he said. “Sal Sunseri was recruiting me and they were going through a coaching change before Johnny Majors was brought back. Gerry Faust was coaching at Akron and assistant Bob Junko recruited a lot of WPIAL players, including Monessen’s Keith Davis and the Coles brothers, Bryan and Jaison, before me.”
“Akron went with the triple option,” he said. “One year I was the featured back. I had a 100-yard game against Kent State and scored two touchdowns against Virginia Tech. My last two years I was more of a receiving back and blocked one season for Ringgold’s Greg Lomax.”
Reader was voted the Zips’ Most Valuable Back as a sophomore and senior. During his time with the Zips, Reader ran for 751 yards and caught 45 passes for 316 yards. After playing four years at the University of Akron and making the Hula Bowl in Hawaii, the 6-0, 238-pound Reader was bypassed in the NFL Draft, despite being projected among the top five fullbacks in the country. “Only four or five fullbacks got drafted that year,” he said. “Arizona signed me, but I was only with them a couple of weeks. Miami then picked me up where I spent two years on the Dolphins’ practice squad.”
Enter NFL Europe where Reader played one season for the Scottish Claymores.
Philadelphia was the next stop, where Reader was the backup fullback to Stanley Pritchett. “I was always one play away from being the Eagles fullback, but Pritchett never got hurt when I was there,” he recalled.
Reader then opted for the San Francisco Demons in the new XFL created by WWE chairman Vince McMahon. The Demons were good enough to advance to XFL championship (“Million Dollar Game”) where they lost to Los Angeles Extreme, 38-6, in 2001. The Extreme’s quarterback was Tommy Maddox, who signed several months later with the Pittsburgh Steelers and played five years for Coach Bill Cowher.
Reader’s football playing days ended after the 2002 campaign.
Jamie is the son of Crystal Jordan Reader, born May 4, 1974. His grandmother, Helen Jordan, was a large influence in Jamie’s life and sadly passed away. Reader married his college sweetheart, Misti Spring of Steubenville, Ohio, and has three children: Jami, Farrah, and Roman. He is employed at the State Corrections Institution in Waynesburg as activities specialist coordinating activities for inmates. Before that he was the fatherhood coordinator at the SPHS Family Center in Monessen. He was also an assistant football coach for 10 years at Monessen for Joe Fischer and Andy Pacak, working with running backs and serving as offensive coordinator. Reader also coached BVA Metro Travel Basketball for three years with one championship.
(Grateful acknowledgement to Brian Herman for this biography that appeared in The Valley Independent June 21, 2013)
Read about our past Inductees here!